Lies
by Lexicer
Summary: She had been suffering from this “condition” for a while now. We were all l’Cie, but none of us suffered from any ailment like Lightning." LightningxSnow


_First Fan Fiction *_mouth drops* _I can't believe it. So its pretty crappy…and cheesy. But if you're looking for some good ol' cheesy babe romance than maybe this will do it for you! _:D _Reviews are good. Please tell me what you think can be changed or what you liked. It will probably help me make my writing not suck as much. With that being said… ENJOY THE STORY!!! _:D

Oh and I don't own Final Fantasy XIII. Its Square Enix's. So that also means that I don't own the characters.

Lies

She had been suffering from this "condition" for a while now. We were all l'Cie, but none of us suffered from any ailment like Lightning.

The attacks would come at random, and when they did they crippled her. At the beginning of our mission, they weren't too bad. She would suddenly stop, clutching her chest, and wait for it to pass. Sometimes she would get down on the floor to ease the pain, and other times she wouldn't. It all just depended on how badly it hurt or how long we had been traveling that day. The attacks would normally only last thirty to sixty seconds before she was ready to butcher fiends again. It was all rather tempermental.

When she told us not to worry, we knew to just leave her be. Its not the most dextrous thing to piss off Lightning. Believe me…I would know. I've pissed her off many a time! But she always forgives me in the end.

I know she is really just a big softy on the inside.

Many say that being in the Cocoon Army changes people in one way or another. Whether it gives them a phobia of weapons or haunts their dreams for years, they all change in one way or another. I have to wonder…was Lightning always this cold and aloof, or did she too laugh and smile without restraint.

Our party is a pretty interesting group and there are countless oppurtunities everyday to laugh at us and our thoughtless ways. But Lightning prefers to give a roll of the eyes at our blunders rather than give a big, goofy smile.

Sometimes I wish she would just let go and laugh out loud at one of my many misfortunes, but alas it is not so.

It worries me.

I think that there is something that she won't tell us. The attacks are happening more often now, and for a longer period of time as well. No one else in our party has this condition, so why Lightning?

She says that they don't hurt, but I've got a brain under this bandana and I know for a fact that she's lying. Lightning might be one hell of a soldier, but she's a terrible liar. When she lies she always tries to look me straight in the eye. Lightning almost never looks me straight in the eye. When she lies she stares right at me, but always caves and flickers her eyes elsewhere if only for a split second. If you don't look carefully you can't catch it because she only looks at objects on near my eyes. So its subtle, but its obvious to me.

"It doesn't hurt," she said while looking in my eyes, "It just takes me by surprise." Cue that eye flicker to my right eyebrow.

All I could do was stare at her in disbelief. Did she think I was stupid? Actually…yeah. She does think I'm stupid, but that's just a mistake on her half.

I wish she would just be honest and tell me that it hurts. Its not like I would think any less of her. In fact, I think I would respect her even more. Putting up an emotional barrier doesn't make you stronger. Acknowledging and being honest with your emotions and facing them does. She should know that she can tell me anything.

But she doesn't. So I had no idea just how damaging these attacks really were until it was almost too late.

We were traveling down a path in Cocoon on our mission to find the Pulse fal'Cie. Lightning of course was leading the group while I loped not far behind her with Vanille and Hope behind me with Sazh at the rear. It was almost completely dark out except for the tiniest glimmer of what was left of the sun after the long day. There was a high cliff to our left and a thick forest to our right.

I was staring at the ground trying to think of where the nearest town was where we can stay when suddenly I heard a sharp intake of breath up ahead of me.

As I looked up I saw Lightning clutching her glowing red chest. The entire party stopped at the same time staring at her back worriedly. She stood motionless for about thirty seconds beore she fell to one knee with a loud groan still clutching her chest.

"Lightning!" Vanille screamed as she ran up to her left side. Vanille's eyes went wide with fear and worry, and I immediately ran up to help.

"Light, what do you-" I stopped as I took in Lightning's expression. Her eyes were wide and she had a light sheen of sweat on her forehead. Her hand was clutching her chest when she suddenly got down on both knees with her eyes squeezed shut.

"Agh!" Lightning yelled, but she seemed to be trying to hold back a real scream while she started to breath in short, difficult gasps.

Sazh and Hope had run over by now, but were at a loss of what to do. Vanille looked at me hopelessly as we both wondered what to do. Lightning's attacks had never gotten this bad before, and it scared us shitless.

Lightning suddenly collapsed to the ground in the fetal position with a restrained groan. It looked like every muscle in her body was flexing. Her hand was turning red as she clenched her fist tightly around her shirt above the glowing red orb in her chest. Her other hand was trying desparately to grab onto the dirt next to her face.

I immediately grabbed her dirty hand and grasped it. It was more for my sake than hers. I didn't know what else to do. I had never seen Lightning like this. She was so vulnerable and weak, so at the expense of a fate that was forced on her. Lightning was always so sure and strong, but now she looked so broken and delicate.

Vanille was crouching next to Lightning with her hands floating above Lightning's shaking body, unsure of what to do. When I caught her eye, all I saw was confused panic. Neither of us knew how to help Lightning. Sazh and Hope stood nearby watching helplessly.

"Lightning. Lightning! What should we do?" I asked her loudly trying to keep my voice commanding and strong.

I'm a big guy…like a BIG GUY. So not much scares me, but this? This scared me. What would we do without Lightning? She was the glue of this gang. The stubborn, strict glue that kept us in order and kept us moving. Everything would fall apart if she was gone. Sure she was cold-hearted and mean and moody and all sorts of negative things, but she was our leader. No one could replace her. We'd be lost.

"Lightning," I said again with a little less authority and more desparation. She continued to shake and cling to her chest. The red light in her chest seemed to pulse every two seconds or so, and every time it pulsed it caused Lightning to convulse and cling even more to her throbbing chest.

"Answer me, dammit!" I shouted at her shaking body. She simply ignored me and continued to convulse. Suddenly I felt her hand clench mine, and her eyes went wide. She practically clawed at her chest and let out a short, but powerful scream as she had her biggest convulsion yet. Vanille looked at me with sheer panic and clinged onto the back of Lightning's vest.

"Lightning," Vanille whispered defeatedly. She had tears in her eyes and it was clear that she thought it was over. I just gave a frustrated glance at her and clung to Lightning's hand, praying for it to end.

Finally the light started to slowly fade until it finally vanished completely. Lightning relaxed her eyes so that they half opened and she slowly loosened her grip on her chest. Her light pink bangs stuck to her forehead drenched in a sweat, and she was shaking viciously.

"Are you okay?" I asked her quietly. She nodded weakly. I let out a sigh of relief, and I saw all the others do the same.

"Lightning!" Vanille exclaimed. She laid her torso on Lightning's side in a sort of make-shift hug and gave a tiny sob. "What happened to you?" Vanille asked between quiet sobs.

Lightning glanced at her and stuttered, "S-same old, same old. Th-there's n-nothing you n-need to w-worry about."

Sazh rolled his eyes, half glaring at Lightning, "Easier said than done," he said sarcastically. Lightning gave a tiny smile and turned her eyes to me.

"W-we need to keep moving," she said, "We n-need to find some place to s-stay." I moved to pick her up but she pushed my hands away with a shaky hand.

"I can do it myself. I'm not s-some weak woman that needs to be saved," she growled feebly. I chuckled to myself as I stood up to give her room.

She got to one knee when she sat back down again. I crouched down to give her a hand and I whispered to her quietly, "No, you're not some weak woman that needs to be saved...but you are a kick-ass soldier who needs a hand." I chuckled softly when I received a weak glare from her. She then gave me a tired smile and laid her head on my shouler.

"I'm so tired," she said lethargically. I smiled and carefully picked her up.

I turned to Hope and asked, "Where's the nearest town, squirt?"

The young boy suddenly shot a dark glare at me and shouted, "Don't call me squirt, snowball!" Lightning gave Hope a glare telling him to be quiet.

"You heard the lady, now move!" Snow said half jokingly to the boy. He was quickly quiet after that comment and suddenly found the ground interesting enough to keep his head down and kick pebbles

"I vote that way!" Vanille exclaimed as she pointed north.

"I second that motion, now lets get the hell out of here. Lightning's not the only one whose tired," Sazh replied sleepily.

The three of them started up the path once more leading in the front talking animatedly. I hung back while still carrying a very drowsy Lightning.

"You know..." I began, "You owe me big time for this. I mean I see a hill up there that I'm gonna have to walk up while carrying you. So I think that you should-"

I was cut off by Lightning saying, "You need the workout, fatass. I'm doing you a favor." I chuckled quietly as she leaned in closer and eventually dozed off.

**THE END**

_So what did you guys think?! I'm actually kinda-sorta-not-really proud of this as my first fan fiction. Hopefully I'll write lots more in the future! Please review! It would be so helpful. I won't hold it agains you if its harsh. I'd rather have decent, honest reviews I can use to my advantage then LIES!! Thanks so much for reading! _


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